


Bruises

by sweetheart35



Category: Psych
Genre: F/M, Fluff, High School AU, One-Shot, Pre-Relationship, they're just a couple of cuties okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 06:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20371849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetheart35/pseuds/sweetheart35
Summary: I tried to do handstands for you but every time I fell for you...I'm permanently black and blue, permanently blue for you. - Chairlift





	Bruises

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RobinsonsWereHere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinsonsWereHere/gifts).

Look, it’s not like Juliet was  _ trying _ to get Shawn’s attention. That would be ridiculous,  _ Carlton. _ She just...wanted to learn to do handstands for herself. The cheerleaders had amazing coordination and muscle control and that was something Juliet could admire without any ulterior motives such as Shawn Spencer in homeroom having a thing for cheerleaders even if they’d never give him the time of day. Even if Shawn was funny and witty and actually pretty nice if you could look past him being a clown constantly. And his best friend was nice too.

And besides, Juliet knew good and well with her hair in the pigtail braids and braces that she was stuck with for another few months and the overwhelming amount of pink (she liked flowers _ , _ okay, and possibly Hello Kitty) and Carlton as her best friend and the fact she’d knocked out a classmate’s teeth a few weeks ago (and she was sticking to it when she said they’d deserved it) she didn’t have a chance in the world of catching anyone’s attention except for maybe a few of the freshmen who hadn’t met Carlton yet and been scared off. Definitely no one in the sophomore classes and  _ definitely _ no upperclassmen.

Anyway, the point was Juliet wasn’t trying to learn how to do handstands to get Shawn’s attention. She was doing it for  _ herself, _ but if Shawn happened to notice then that was just an added bonus.

“I still don’t understand why you’re trying to learn if you’re not even going to try out for the squad,” Carlton commented from his spot on the bleachers, not looking up from his homework. They were hanging out by the track after school waiting for their rides. Juliet was going to get her license in a few weeks, something that annoyed Carlton to no end, but in the meantime they were stuck waiting on their respective rides.

“Maybe I’d just like to do something different,” Juliet said, a little more waspishly then she normally would have. She’d been going at it for nearly half an hour and she’d managed to land on her backside almost every single time except for when she’d wiped out spectacularly on her side. Carlton had nearly laughed himself sick over that one. Her face was flushed and hot, her hair was a mess and she had a few pretty spectacular bruises forming on her legs and arms.

Carlton blinked over his glasses at her but before he could respond his mom pulled up and he started packing his books away.

“Well,” he said. “You’ll figure it out. You manage to get everything you put your mind to, even if you have to break a bone first.” Juliet huffed a laugh and followed him over to his car. “Call me if you get it.”

“I will,” she promised and bent over so she could peer into the window at the woman in the driver’s seat. “Hi, Mrs. Lassiter.”

“Hello, Juliet,” she said warmly. “Do you need a ride?”

“No, thank you. My brother should be here soon.” Probably. Ewan was usually pretty good about being on time but he may have gotten roped into helping their dad with some chores around the house. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Carlton. Bye, Mrs. Lassiter!”

\--

Ewan was late, Juliet was near tears and her knee was bleeding sluggishly because she’d miscalculated how far she was from the track on her latest attempt and came down hard. The nurse’s office is going to be closed since it’s after four.

It’s not even that her knee was hurting that had Juliet close to tears. It was the fact that she’d been trying for ages and she hadn’t made any progress. It’s the fact that anyone she knew who could help her learn was more likely to laugh her out of the state then help her. And it’s the fact that she  _ was _ doing this for some stupid boy who probably still wouldn’t even look her way if she did manage to do a handstand but Juliet just wants to be noticed for once by someone she admired and had a crush on. She ripped a handful of grass out of the ground and threw it away from her petulantly, sniffling.

“Hey, are you alright?”

The voice was unexpected and Juliet’s gaze whipped upward. Shawn was crouching over her, his brow furrowed, hands braced on his knees. Juliet gaped up at him for a moment before remembering she was showing off her braces in all their glory and snapped her mouth shut, scrambling to her knees.

“Uh, yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she mumbled, ducking her head and feeling her face heat up even more.

“Really? Because it kinda looked like you were auditioning for America’s Funniest Home Videos,” Shawn said skeptically and Juliet scowled. Shawn grinned at her and she tried not to get distracted by his freckles.

“So my friend Gussie has an ice pack in his lunchbox he’ll let you use if you want,” Shawn continued. “For your knee, I mean.”

“His name is not Gussie,” Juliet objected, but she couldn’t quite stop her lips twitching up into a smile.

“You’re right, it’s not.” Shawn’s own smile was wide as he started herding Juliet towards the main entrance. “It’s actually Goosie, but after an unfortunate encounter with a herd of migrating geese, he refuses to answer to it any longer. But please call him that when we go get the ice pack from him because he’s very particular about new people using nicknames around him. That stemmed from an unfortunate encounter with Stacy Grunkle in the sixth grade.”

Juliet couldn’t quite stop the snort of laughter that escaped her and Shawn seemed to smile even wider as he walked her towards the boy wearing well-pressed khakis and a tucked in polo shirt.

Gus was even nicer in person, sharing the ice pack after he’d argued with Shawn for a few minutes about germs and blood-borne pathogens until Shawn promised to wrap the ice pack up before putting it on Juliet’s knee and he shared some of his strawberries with her after she told him they were her favorite, both of them ignoring Shawn’s loud objections that pineapple was better.

By the time Ewan pulled up to take her home, Juliet’s knee was all but forgotten and when Shawn and Gus both dropped into the seats opposite her and Carlton at lunch the next day, much to Carlton’s loud horror, Juliet thought she might burst.

When Shawn pushed a container of chopped strawberries across the table to her, Juliet spent the rest of the day smiling.


End file.
